Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Wednesday appealed to the Odisha Administrative Service (OAS) and Odisha Revenue Service (ORS) officers to end their ‘cease work’ protest and resume duty in view of Rath Yatra and the flood situation four districts of the State.
The officers had launched the protest on Tuesday, a day after Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) Additional Commissioner Ratnakar Sahoo was allegedly assaulted by a group of miscreants.
Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi convened a high-level meeting with senior officials to resolve the ongoing deadlock. After the meeting, Revenue and Disaster Management Minister Suresh Pujari urged the officers to end their agitation, assuring that such an incident would not happen again. Pujari condemned the assault and stated that five people have been arrested so far, with further arrests to be made.
“The incident that took place inside the BMC office is very, very unfortunate and uncivilised. People from all cross-sections of society, including my party and government, have condemned the attack on the Additional Commissioner of the BMC. In view of the flood situation and rainfall in the state, we have deputed OAS officers to duty. The Bahuda Yatra and Suna Besha are also on the cards. To maintain law and order, the OAS officers’ role is important. So, I appeal to them to desist from the pen-down strike and resume duty,” Pujari said.
The minister appealed to the officers to resume duty, citing the ongoing flood situation in parts of northern Odisha and the upcoming Rath Yatra festival. He also offered to hold further discussions with the OAS Association to address their demands.
Regarding the association’s demand for the arrest of BJP leader Jagannath Pradhan for his alleged involvement in the attack, Pujari said that the police are investigating the incident from all angles and will take action based on the findings.
The OAS Association had given a call for a ‘mass leave’ from Tuesday, but later postponed it after getting an assurance from the Chief Minister. However, officers in several districts went ahead with the agitation, bringing government and public service works to a near standstill.
